General Genetics Lab (BIO284) Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (SP25)

We seek four undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) to assist with General Genetics Lab (BIO284) in spring 2025.  In this position, UTAs will increase their understanding and proficiency with core genetics content and techniques and gain experience teaching in a laboratory environment. UTAs will participate in weekly meetings with the course staff to discuss, practice, and implement best practices in teaching and laboratory science and offer direct peer support to enrolled students during lab and during scheduled office hours

Name of research group, project, or lab
BIO284: General Genetics Lab
Why participate in this opportunity?

Being a BIO284 UTA will allow you to build confidence with basic molecular biology techniques, deepen your understanding of the fundamentals of genetics, gain experience with teaching in a laboratory setting, and share knowledge and connect with other students. You will also build skills in teamwork and collaboration by working with our BIO284 instructional team of faculty, laboratory staff, and graduate and undergraduate TAs.  UTAs will receive a minimum of 2 credits for supporting either 1 or 2 lab sections (a minimum of ~5-7 hours of work each week will be needed to support one lab section).  

Logistics Information:
Subject Category
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bioinformatics/Data Science
Biology
Genetics
Student ranks applicable
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Student qualifications

Successful applicants will have completed BIO311 (General Genetics) and BIO284 (General Genetics Lab) at UMass, highly related and comparable level courses at UMass, or equivalent courses at other institutions.  Also required for this position is proficiency with basic techniques in molecular biology (e.g. pipetting, assembling reactions, gel electrophoresis), and willingness to learn specialized techniques (e.g. sterile technique, yeast culture, DNA sequence analysis).  Successful applicants will also be excited about genetics/molecular biology and have strong teamwork and communication skills.

BIO284 is a 4-hour lab so you must be able to commit to a minimum of one full afternoon per week (M, Tu, Th, or F) for this position, in addition to a weekly Friday prep meeting. Prospective TAs able to assist with breakdowns and setups on Fridays are also encouraged to apply.  Each week you will also be required to prepare for your lab section by reviewing course materials and protocols, to be able to effectively assist students with the lab content.  

To ensure that you meet these qualifications:

  1. Complete the application through the PROPEL site.  In your application, please indicate why you're interested in this position, and the strengths you bring to your work as a UTA, and what you think UTAs in this course should do to help all students succeed. 
  2. For your application to be complete, you must fill out this form indicating your availability. 
Time commitment
5-7 h/wk
8-10 h/wk
Position Types and Compensation
Teaching - Ind. Study Credit
Number of openings
4
Techniques learned

In BIO284 you will gain experience with an array of molecular biology techniques, including pipetting, DNA isolation, PCR, gel electrophoresis, yeast culture, sterile technique, RFLP analysis, and DNA sequence analysis.  You will also gain experience with teaching in a laboratory environment.

Project start
SP25
Contact Information:
Mentors
Amanda Cass
acass@umass.edu
Lecturer
Mary Packard
mpackard@umass.edu
ISB Biology Teaching Labs Support Technician/Instructor
Amanda Raimer
araimer@umass.edu
Teaching Faculty
Name of project director or principal investigator
Amanda Cass
Email address of project director or principal investigator
acass@umass.edu
4 sp. | 8 appl.
Hours
5-7 h/wk (+1)
5-7 h/wk8-10 h/wk
Project categories
Bioinformatics/Data Science (+3)
Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyBioinformatics/Data ScienceBiologyGenetics